


Serendipity

by Wolfsbane



Category: Mad Men
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-11-04 05:52:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17892740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfsbane/pseuds/Wolfsbane
Summary: After a devastating loss, Peggy gets some surprising news and finds herself turning to Joan for support.





	Serendipity

**Author's Note:**

> I posted a prompt about a widowed Peggy moving in with Joan and raising their kids together while falling in love a while ago on Tumblr. After doing some drabbles set in this universe, I finally found the inspiration to write the whole thing. Kinda fluffy and cheesy, but I hope you like it.
> 
> I didn't want to kill Stan so I broke him and Peggy up and gave Peggy a disposable fiance instead. I love Stan/Peggy so I hated to break them up, but at least he's not dead?

April, _1976_

She shouldn't have been surprised that so few people attended Eric's funeral. His parents were dead, and he didn't have any siblings. His cousin in Oregon had sent a condolence card, at least.

There were a few of his college buddies in attendance, including his old roommate Tommy, who gave the eulogy. Peggy had never met them beforehand. She had only known Eric for six months. Their relationship had moved fast and they’d gotten engaged on Valentine’s with plans to marry in the summer.

His coworkers at the bank were there, including his boss, who had been the last person to see Eric the night of the crash. He had given Peggy a long hug and tearfully told her how he regretted not offering to give Eric a ride home that night.

Her own family had come, at least. Eric had been one of the few men she had dated that Ma had approved of.

Don had come, too. And, to her surprise, Joan.

The service was mercifully short. A celebrant hired by the funeral home gave a fifteen minute boilerplate speech, then Tommy reminisced about their college days together for while. There was no viewing of the body. The crash had made Eric’s face unrecognizable.

Peggy wanted to leave the funeral as soon as possible. She wanted to go home and distract herself with work and take out food. After the service, she brushed off the people who came up to her to give her their condolences and tried to slip out the door as discreetly as possible. She was just a few feet away from the exit when she heard someone call her name.

"Peggy?”

Peggy turned around and saw Joan approaching her.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry,” Joan told her. “I didn’t meet Eric, but I’ve heard he was a great man."

"Thank you," Peggy murmured. "That means a lot."

"I'm here for you, if you need me."

"Thank you," Peggy said. "But right now I really just want to be alone."

Though Peggy had brushed Joan off, her words echoed in Peggy’s head as she walked down the street towards the subway.

_***_

May, _1976_

She had assumed it had all been stress from losing her fiancé. The missed periods, the mood swings, the puking. It had to be stress, she told herself.

But when the receptionist at the doctor's office called, on her birthday of all days, to tell her the results of the urine sample she'd given at her yearly physical, there was no denying it anymore. She was pregnant with the child of a man who had died six weeks ago.

She had been planning to spend her birthday alone in her apartment watching sitcoms and eating her bodyweight in fried rice. Instead, she found herself sitting in a taxi-cab making its way towards East 61st Street.

***

Joan had just finished putting in her hair rollers when she heard a knock at her front door. She quickly threw a robe over her nightgown and hurried down the stairs of the townhouse. Anyone visiting her this late at night had to have something urgent to say.

She was shocked at what she found. Peggy Olson, looking frazzled and windswept, was standing on her doorstep.

"Peggy?" Joan blinked. "It's past ten. What are you doing here?"

"I'm pregnant," Peggy croaked.

Joan's jaw dropped.

"Come in."

Joan ushered Peggy inside and closed the door. She led Peggy to the living room.

"Do you want something to drink? I can make you some hot chocolate or-"

Peggy shook her head and sat down on the couch.

"I-I don't want anything,” she stammered. “I’m sorry I’m here so late. I don’t want to wake your little boy up. I just found out today. I- I didn't know who else to turn to."

Joan sat down next to Peggy and put a supportive hand on her back.

"Do you need me to come with you to the clinic?" she offered delicately.

Peggy shook her head again,

"No, I've already decided. I'm going to keep it. It's the only thing I have left of him," she said. "And it might be my last chance. You know it's my thirty-seventh birthday today? What a fucking birthday present."

Joan saw Peggy blink away a tear. She reached over to the coffee table and slid the box of Kleenex over to Peggy.

"But how am I going to raise a baby alone?" Peggy continued, taking a tissue and wiping her face with it. "I practically live at work. And my place is a shithole. I can't bring up a kid there."

Joan thought of how terrified she had been when she had found out she was pregnant with Kevin, with her husband in Vietnam and her child’s biological father married to another woman.

"What if you move in here?” she offered, putting her hand on Peggy’s shoulder. “With us? Just for the time being."

Peggy looked up at her in surprise.

"I couldn't do that," she murmured.

"I don't think you should be alone right now,” Joan said. “You're going through a rough time.”

"I- I can't."

"Come on, this apartment is too big for just me and Kevin, now that my mother's in Florida with her new husband. You can have the whole fourth floor to yourself."

Joan had bought the townhouse three years previously. Holloway & Harris had found its footing and Joan had finally decided to move out of her cramped old apartment. The location was okay, but size was Joan's main motivation for buying the townhouse. Her mother was still living with them at the time, and poor Kevin had shared a room with her his entire life. They could each have their own bedrooms, Joan could have an office, her mother could have a sewing room.

And then Gail had met a man, gotten married for the fourth time, and moved down to Florida, all in the space of a few months, leaving Joan and Kevin alone in that big house.

"Are you sure I wouldn't be an inconvenience?" Peggy asked.

"I know what it's like to be pregnant and alone," Joan reminded her. "I could support you. We could support each other. As single working mothers."

Peggy sniffled and managed a small smile.

"That would be nice."

***

June, _1976_

Peggy moved in on the first Saturday in June, bringing only her typewriter, a bag of clothes, and a small box of keepsakes.

"Is that really all you brought with you?" Joan asked as she watched Peggy pack her clothes into the closet of her new bedroom.

"It's all I want to keep," Peggy told her. "Everything in my old apartment reminds me of Eric. It's hard to be around it right now, you know?"

"Are you selling your place?" Joan asked.

"Just renting it out for now," Peggy answered. She put another dress onto a hanger and frowned. "I probably won't even be able to fit into these clothes in a few weeks. Why did I even bother to bring them?"

"There are two rooms downstairs on the third floor,” Joan said. “One of them is my office, the other one we've just been using for storage, but it could be your office. There's a desk you can put your typewriter on."

“I don’t want to take up too much of your space,” Peggy said. “I’m not even paying rent. I can just work in here.”

"Peggy, I want you to feel at home,” Joan said. She pointed out the open bedroom door and across the small hallway. “The other room up here, I thought that could be the baby's room. When the time comes, that is."

Peggy nodded morosely and started putting rolled up balls of socks into the chest of drawers next to the window.

"Mom, come on!" Kevin yelled from downstairs.

"I have to take Kevin to his Little League game," Joan told Peggy. "You're welcome to come with us."

Peggy sunk down on her bed and shook her head.

"I just want to be alone right now," she said.

"If you're sure," Joan said, and took one last look back at Peggy before heading down the stairs to her son.

***

July, _1976_

Upon learning that Peggy was planning to spend Independence Day at home working, Joan had immediately invited her to spend the day with her and Kevin at Roger and Marie's vacation house in the Hamptons.

Peggy was surprised to find that Don was there too. A fellow pity guest, she supposed. He was recently divorced from his fourth wife and his kids were all living in different states.

She joined him on the balcony watching Kevin and Roger's grandson Ellery swimming in the surf.

“Peggy,” Don said, “My ex-wife died a few years ago.”

“I remember,” Peggy said. She had accompanied him to the funeral. It was one of the few times she had ever seen him cry.

“I know what you’re going through,” he continued. “You can talk to me whenever you want.”

But he didn’t know, Peggy thought to herself. He was married to his first wife for almost ten years. She had only gotten to spend six months with Eric.

“Thank you, Don,” she said.

***

On July 5th, Joan received a call from her mother.

"I've got good news," Gail told her. "I've found you a man."

"Mom, if this is about Bertie from your condo again, I'm not interested,” Joan told her sharply. “I don't care how rich he is, he's twice my a-"

"Actually," her mother interrupted her. "This is Bertie's son, Leo. He's a little older than you. Late fifties. He's a hedge fund manager, divorced, two kids in their twenties-"

"Mom, I don't need you to find dates for me," Joan said.

"Well, it's been a while since you found one on your own, honey."

"It's a little hard to find the time to date when you're a single mom running her own company."

"That little boy needs a father, Joanie," Gail said huffily.

"He has Roger," Joan pointed out.

"It's not the same."

"Fine, Mom. I'll go on one date with him, but you have to promise me you’ll stop trying to set me up with men from now on.”

The following Saturday, the night of her date with Leo, Joan walked into the dining where she found Peggy cutting ads out of the newspaper.

"Thanks for babysitting," Joan said to Peggy.

"You're welcome," Peggy said, setting her scissors down. "I need the practice anyway."

Kevin was watching television in the living room. Joan leaned down to give him a kiss.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, honey."

Kevin brushed her off, his eyes glued to the screen. Joan shook her head and smiled. Typical ten year old.

Leo Franzen was not what Joan expected. For one, he was extremely handsome, with salt and pepper hair, hazel eyes, and teeth so shiny Joan could practically see her reflection in them. He was also funny, intelligent, and hardworking. Everything that Joan had always valued in a partner.

At the end of the date, he drove Joan home and walked her to the door and gave her a courteous kiss on the cheek. She didn’t even hesitate when he asked her to call him.

***

August, _1976_

Peggy's blood pressure shot up over the summer. Her doctor blamed it on stress. He encouraged her to significantly reduce her workload, perhaps even take a day off every week to unwind. Peggy could count the number of days she'd had off in the last ten years on one hand, so this proved to be a more difficult transition than she initially imagined.

Kevin had contracted stomach flu at his sleepaway camp and had been sent home early. Joan didn't like leaving Kevin home during the day so she usually took him to the office with her when she couldn't send him to one of his friends' houses.

“I’m sick of going to work with you, Mom,” Kevin complained over breakfast one morning. “There’s nothing to do there.”

"He can stay home with me,” Peggy offered, stirring her spoon around her bowl of soggy cornflakes.

Kevin beamed and looked at Joan expectantly.

“Please, Mom?”

“Are you sure?” Joan asked Peggy. “You’re supposed to be using your days off to relax.”

“We’ll be fine,” Peggy said. “Kevin’s a good kid.”

When Joan finally left for work, Peggy turned to Kevin.

"Do you want to go to a movie?" she asked. "Is there anything you want to see?"

Kevin's face lit up.

"I wanna see The Omen!"

"The Omen?" Peggy said. "The one about that devil kid?"

"My mom won't let me see it," Kevin told her. "She says it's too scary for me. But Danny's seen it, and so has Mike P."

"I don't blame your mom. I wouldn't want you to see it either,” Peggy said. She smiled devilishly. “But she doesn't have to find out."

Kevin’s face lit up.

"I'm probably going to regret this,” Peggy said. “But I've always had a thing for Gregory Peck."

"Yes!" Kevin exclaimed, and he punched the air with his fist."

***

September, _1976_

"Fuck you, Greg."

Joan slammed the phone down so hard her hand hurt. She walked over to the sink, turned the faucet on, and let the cold water run over her aching hand.

"Everything okay?" Peggy asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Greg was supposed to take Kevin camping this week, as a special treat before school starts again,” Joan explained. “He's been looking forward to it all summer. Now he can't make it. He's going to his wife's cousin's wedding instead. Apparently, that’s more important than seeing Kevin.”

"Poor Kevin," Peggy said sympathetically.

“All I ask is that he see his son at least once a year and he can't even do that. How am I going to tell Kevin?"

Peggy thought for a moment.

“Buy him as many Hot Wheels as he wants, take him to the ice cream parlor, order the biggest sundae on the menu, and then drop the news.”

“You think that’ll work?” Joan asked.

“It’s how I won over my nephews,” Peggy said, shrugging.

***

October, _1976_

One day, in mid-October, Peggy got a phone call from Joyce. She and Megan were back in town to visit Marie, and they wanted to meet Peggy for dinner.

They were already sitting at the table when Peggy arrived, both drinking Bloody Marys. There was an extra drink waiting on the table.

"We got yours virgin," said Joyce as Peggy sat down and reached for the drink. "It's essentially just plain tomato juice, though."

"How's everything in California?" Peggy asked, taking a drink.

"Great,” Joyce said. “Megan just got done filming a new movie. Space Wars. By the guy who did American Graffiti."

"It's called Star Wars and I'm barely in it,” Megan said, shaking her head and rolling her eyes at her girlfriend. “I'll be lucky if I don't end up on the cutting room floor."

“I’ll take Kevin to see it,” Peggy said. “He loves all that science fiction stuff. We saw The Omen a few months ago. Probably not the best movie to watch while you’re pregnant.”

"How are you feeling?" Megan asked, handing Peggy a menu.

"Okay, I guess,” Peggy said. “My blood pressure's gone down, which is good."

"Have you picked a name yet?" Joyce asked.

"He's going to have my surname. It's just easier that way," said Peggy. "So I'm going to name him Eric. Or Erica, if it's a girl."

"You’d better have a girl," Megan warned Peggy jokingly. "All my friends have been having boys. I need someone to buy tiny dresses for!"

"I'll try my best,” Peggy said dryly. “But I can't promise anything."

"We should throw you a baby shower,” Megan said brightly. “When are you due again?"

"Around Christmas," Peggy answered. "But you really don't have to do that.”

***

November, _1976_

Joyce and Megan held Peggy’s baby shower on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Joan had offered up the use of her living room for the party. She had sent Kevin to the movies with Roger to give the women some privacy.

In addition to Joan, Megan, and Joyce, the women who attended were mostly people Peggy knew from McCann. However, to Joan, it looked as if Peggy didn’t really know them very well. When they weren’t opening presents or cutting the elegant stork cake Megan had ordered from a bakery in mid-town, they were in their own groups talking to each other, while Peggy sat alone with Joan.

“I barely know those women,” Peggy confessed to Joan as they were taking the presents up to the baby’s room after the guests had gone home. Joyce and Megan were still cleaning up downstairs. “They’re just people I get along with at work. I’ve never had many female friends. I’ve never had many friends period. My work is my life.”

“Then why did you invite them?” Joan asked. She started sorting the presents and plucking out everything made of fabric. “We’ll have to wash these clothes and blankets before they’re ready for the baby.”

“It didn’t feel right to have a baby shower with just you, Joyce, and Megan,” Peggy said.

“Why didn’t your family come?” Joan asked. “You should have invited them.”

“We’re not exactly on speaking terms right now,” Peggy said. “My mother thinks I should give the baby to my sister. She thinks that because I’m not married I won’t be able to take care of it. I’m thirty-seven years and I make fifty thousand dollars a year. I am more than capable of taking care of this baby.”

“Don’t listen to them,” Joan told her.

“Sometimes I think she’s right,” Peggy admitted.

"All first time moms feel like that,” Joan assured her. “I've been a mom for ten years and I’m still not sure if I’m cut out to be a parent.”

Peggy looked down at the floor and took a deep breath.

"I'm not a first time mom,” she admitted. “I mean I am, but I have had a baby before. I gave him up for adoption."

Joan gaped at her. She thought she knew everything about Peggy. This was out of left field.

"When you were a teenager?" she guessed.

"No,” Peggy said. She took another long, deep breath. “I was twenty-one."

"1960,” Joan said, remembering. “There were rumors."

"About me and Don,” Peggy said. “It wasn't Don's. I want to make that clear."

"If it makes you feel better, you’re not the only with a secret,” Joan told her. “Greg isn't Kevin's real father, and I suspect he knows."

"Then who-"

"Roger,” Joan said simply.

"Roger? Oh my god,” Peggy said. “Actually, that makes a lot of sense. Kevin does spend a lot of time with him."

“He’s not just Kevin’s ‘fun uncle’,” Joan said. “I don’t feel bad about lying to Greg. He is not a good person. I know I need to tell Kevin the truth, but I’m not sure if he’s ready for it right now.”

“You shouldn’t feel bad,” Peggy told her. “Kevin’s a great kid. You’re an amazing mom.”

***

December, _1976_

Peggy was watching the New Years celebrations on TV when she heard the front door slam shut. A few seconds later, Joan walked into the living room, a scowl on her face. Peggy reached for the remote on the coffee table, which was not an easy feat at her current size, and switched the television off.

"What’s wrong?” she asked. “I thought you weren't coming home until tomorrow."

“I ended up getting to Leo’s building earlier than I expected after I dropped Kevin off,” Joan explained, dropping onto the couch next to Peggy. “I was in the lobby waiting for the elevator and I looked around and saw him kissing this little blonde twenty-two year old.”

“Holy shit,” Peggy said. “That fucking pig.”

“I didn’t even talk to him,” Joan said. “I just walked out of the building. I don’t know if he saw me. I ended up going to the bar by myself for a few hours. I’m pathetic.”

“You’re not pathetic,” Peggy said. “Watching TV alone on New Years Eve is pathetic.”

“You think he’s still in his apartment waiting for me?” Joan asked, starting to smile a little.

“The phone rang a few times,” Peggy admitted. “I didn’t answer. I’m nine months pregnant. No phone call is worth getting off the couch right now.”

Joan laughed. Peggy couldn’t help but laugh with her.

"I'm sorry about your boyfriend," Peggy said.

“I should have seen this coming,” Joan said, shaking her head. “I don’t exactly have the best luck with men.”

"I can't believe someone like you would ever have trouble with men,” Peggy said, amazed.

“Peggy, I’m just like everybody else.”

The little black digital clock sitting on the mantel caught Peggy’s eye. 12:01.

"It's midnight,” she said in realization. “It's 1977."

"I thought I had someone to kiss at midnight for the first time in ten years,” Joan said wistfully. “That was a nice thought.”

"You could kiss me," Peggy said, surprising even herself.

"You're right,” Joan said, smiling.

Peggy leaned in to give Joan a kiss on the cheek, but stopped when she felt something trickle down her leg. She pulled back quickly.

"What's wrong?" Joan asked, looking alarmed.

"My water just broke."

***

January, _1977_

Peggy gave birth to a baby girl at Lenox Hill hospital just before dawn on January 1st. Joan stayed with her the whole time, holding her hand through each contraction. Joan went to visit Peggy in the hospital the next day. She was sitting up in bed feeding the baby with a bottle when she walked in. Peggy’s face lit up when she walked in.

"How are you feeling?" Joan asked, sitting down next to Peggy’s bed.

"Good,” Peggy said. “The nurse says we'll be able to go home tomorrow.”

“Kevin’s really excited to meet her,” Joan said. “Though I suspect he’s a bit disappointed it’s a girl. He’s always wanted a brother.”

"I filled out the birth certificate today,” Peggy said, looking down at the baby in her arms. “I named her Erica. Erica Joan Olson."

"You don't need to do that," Joan insisted, though she was flattered.

"I had to,” Peggy said. “You've been a big help these last few months. I couldn’t have done this without you. You were there when she was born. No one deserves this more than you.”

Joan smiled warmly.

"I'm touched."

***

February, _1977_

“Where’s Kevin?” Peggy asked as she walked into Joan’s office at home.

"He's going out with his little girlfriend tonight,” Joan answered, looking up from a script. “Her mom’s chaperoning.”

“Isn’t it a school night?” Peggy asked.

“Peggy, it’s Valentine’s Day,” Joan said, amused.

“It is?” Peggy blinked, and looked at the calendar on Joan’s desk. “Holy shit. It’s easy to lose track of the date when you’re not working.”

Peggy was not going back to work until next week. She felt guilty about looking forward to it, but these last few works at home with the baby had convinced her that she was not cut out to be a full-time homemaker.

"We should go out,” Joan said brightly, putting her script down.

"We can't,” Peggy said. “We'll never be able to find a babysitter tonight."

"We can go out some other time,” Joan agreed. “We'll stay in. Order a pizza. Open a bottle of wine. Talk about our exes."

Joan walked over to the wine cabinet and picked out a bottle of rosé and two glasses. She sat down on her office couch and motioned for Peggy to join her.

"I like my exes,” Peggy said. “Stan and I get along great."

"What about that journalist you were dating? Alex, right?"

Joan poured the wine into the two glasses and handed one to Peggy.

"Abe,” Peggy said, taking a drink. “Trust me, I already got back at him."

Peggy looked down at wine and thought for a few moments.

“There was one guy. He was married,” Peggy admitted. “It wasn’t really an affair. He said he was going to leave his wife for me. So I slept with him. And the next day he told me he and his wife were moving to California to save their marriage.”

“Was it Ted?” Joan guessed.

“Were we that obvious?” Peggy asked.

Joan smiled.

“Just a bit.”

***

March, _1977_

The all too familiar sound of a crying baby greeted Joan’s ears as she walked into the house after work.

“She’s been screaming for hours,” Kevin complained when Joan came into the living room to give him a kiss hello.

Joan found Peggy in the nursery still in her work clothes, looking almost as distraught as the screaming baby in her arms.

“Why won’t she stop crying?” Peggy groaned. “She’s been screaming since I brought her home daycare. I don’t understand. She’s clean, she’s not hungry. What’s wrong with her?”

“She probably just has colic,” Joan said soothingly. “Let me try.”

Peggy passed the baby over to Joan, but there was no change in Erica’s demeanour.

“I’ll take care of her,” Joan said, bouncing the baby in her arms. “You should go lie down.”

“I can’t let you do that,” Peggy said. “She’s my baby. I need to do the hard stuff.”

“Peggy, I insist,” Joan said. “You look like you’re about to collapse.”

Peggy looked as if she wanted to protest, but, seeing the determined look on Joan’s face, quickly changed her mind.

“Thank you so much for this,” she murmured weakly.

Joan watched Peggy stumble out of the room. She looked down at the screaming baby in her arms.

“Let’s go bother Kevin and let Mommy get some rest.”

***

April, _1977_

Peggy was tucking Erica, clad in a grey onesie, into her pram when Joan came down for breakfast.

“I couldn’t find any black baby clothes,” Peggy explained. “Gray is the closest I could get.”

“Are you going to be okay today?” Joan asked. This is your first time visiting him, right?”

“I’ll be fine,” Peggy insisted. “We’ll be fine. Erica needs to meet her father.”

“Do you want me to come with you? I can take the morning off,” Joan offered.

“No, this is something we need to do on our own,” Peggy said. “I can’t believe it’s only been a year since he died. It feels like twenty. So much has happened in the past year.”

The grass in Green-Wood cemetery was wet from the previous night’s rain. Peggy took Erica in her arms and gently knelt down next to the spot where Eric’s ashes were buried, ignoring the mud seeping into her pantyhose. She buried her face into the back of the baby’s head and sobbed.

***

May, _1977_

Joan made good on her promise to take Peggy out on her thirty-eighth birthday. Peggy squeezed into her nicest pre-pregnancy dress and met Joan at a bar after work.

“I haven’t been in a bar in years,” Peggy said, looking around from their table. “Hasn’t really changed much.”

A waiter walked over to their table and placed a bright blue drink in a tall glass next to Peggy.

“I didn’t order this,” Peggy said, staring down at the drink in surprise.

“It’s from the gentleman at the bar,” the waiter said.

"Are you sure?" Peggy asked, staring down at the drink in disbelief.

“I’m sure,” the waiter said, and walked away without another word.

Joan and Peggy looked over to where a handsome man who looked to be in his late thirties was sitting, watching them. He waved towards Peggy and Peggy awkwardly waved back.

"I guess I should go over and talk to him then,” Peggy said, looking at Joan uneasily.

She stood up, picked up the drink, and walked over to the man. Joan motioned for the waiter and tried to ignore the jealous feeling in her chest.

***

June, _1977_

On the last Saturday of June, Peggy headed out on her fourth date with George, the man she had met at the bar on her birthday. As usual, Joan offered to babysit while Peggy went out.

However, Joan couldn’t help but feel a small twinge of jealousy each time she watched Peggy get ready for her dates with George. It was ridiculous, she thought. There was no reason for her to be jealous of Peggy's love life.

Joan had just finished putting the baby down when she heard the front door slam shut. She hurried downstairs, her mind racing. She wasn’t expecting any visitors that night. Kevin was at a sleepover, and Peggy didn’t usually come home from her dates with George until after midnight.

Joan was surprised to find Peggy in the kitchen. She was rifling through the fridge with a determined look on her face.

"You're home early,” Joan said.

"I finally told him," Peggy said, closing the fridge door and turning around to look at Joan. "About the baby."

"I'm guessing that he didn't take it well,” Joan said sympathetically.

"He went to the bathroom and he stayed in there for fifteen minutes,” Peggy told her. “When he finally came back out he said he had to leave early because he was sick. He was fine until I told him. Ate our whole basket of bread."

“I’ll get a bottle and we can talk about it,” Joan said.

Joan quickly retrieved a bottle of French merlot from the wine cabinet in her office upstairs. When she came back in, she found Peggy eating straight from a tub of double chocolate ice cream.

“Sorry,” she said between spoonfuls. “I just needed to eat something chocolate.”

Joan smiled and got two wine glasses out of the cupboard.

“My love life is over, isn’t it?” Peggy moaned as Joan poured her a glass. “No one wants to date a woman with a baby.”

“You could marry a man with five kids,” Joan suggested. “He’d probably think just one baby would be a relief. You guys could be like The Brady Bunch.”

Peggy laughed a little and shook her head.

“I think I’m done with men,” she said. “I need to focus on my baby and my career. They’re the only things that matter right now.”

***

July, _1977_

‘“If something happens to me, promise me you’ll look after Erica.”

Joan looked up from where she had been writing notes on a script and gaped at Peggy.

“Where the hell did that come?” Joan asked.

“If I die,” Peggy said. “I want you to have Erica.”

“Peggy, I’m flattered,” Joan said. “But you’re only thirty-eight. You’ll be around for a long time.”

“My dad died of a heart attack when he was forty-two,” Peggy told her. “I could die before she’s old enough for first grade.”

“Nothing’s going to happen to you,” Joan assured her. “But I’ll look after Erica, as long as you look after Kevin. I don’t want him going to Greg, my mother lives twelve hundred miles away, and as much as I love Roger-”

“Definitely,” Peggy said. “Just don’t let Erica go to my sister.”

“You two still aren’t getting along?”

“She keeps calling me and telling me what to do with my own baby,” Peggy complained.

“She’s probably just trying to give you advice,” Joan reasoned.

“I know my sister,” Peggy said. “If I want her advice I’ll ask for it.”

The baby started crying upstairs and Peggy stomped out of the room. Joan shook her head and went back to her script.

_***_

August, _1977_

On the last Friday of August, Joan, Peggy, and the kids flew down to Miami for Gail’s 70th birthday. Peggy had decided to accompany Joan on a whim. The pressures of a full-time career and caring for a small baby had finally gotten to her and she was itching for a vacation.

The party went fine, apart from the older women who kept coming up to Peggy to coo at Erica and glare judgmentally at her ringless left hand. Peggy did her best to ignore them. After the party, Joan and Peggy got a babysitter and headed out for dinner.

The next morning, they went shopping in Miami. Peggy bought Erica an adorable baby-sized t-shirt with a cartoon alligator on the front. They went back the hotel after lunch. Peggy spent the rest of the afternoon in the sun reading a trashy romance novel she’d bought at the airport as Joan and Kevin played with Erica in the pool.

***

Joan had promised Kevin a day at Disney World, so on Monday they left Miami and flew to Orlando.

Disney World proved to be more stressful than Joan had imagined it would be. Erica had started screaming when they tried to get a photo of her with Mickey Mouse. Kevin had puked up his cotton candy after going on Space Mountain. By the end of the day, their feet were so sore it felt like they were walking on lava.

They were staying in a family suite. Kevin and Joan were in one room, Peggy and Erica were in the other. There was a small sitting room in the middle.

When they finally got back to the hotel, Kevin looked as if he was about to fall over from exhaustion. Joan put him in one of the twin beds in her room while Peggy put Erica in the crib the hotel had provided in her room.

When Joan came out of her room with the glass of wine and glasses she had packed before they left New York, Peggy was already sitting on the couch waiting for her. Joan poured the wine and handed a glass to Peggy.

"There's something I need to tell you," Peggy confessed, nervously circling the rim of her wine glass with her index finger.

"What is it?" Joan asked.

Peggy took a deep breath.

"When Eric died, I know it’s a cliche but I thought I could never love again,” she said. “But in the past year we've been together... I know it's silly. You're a girl. I'm a girl. But I think I've fallen in love with you."

Joan stared at Peggy in disbelief. Her ears had to be playing tricks on her.

"I think I've always been a little bit in love with you,” Peggy stammered.  I always thought it was jealousy, but now I know it's not jealousy. I want to be with you."

"Peggy, I-I'm sorry but-"

Joan stopped herself and thought of the jealousy she herself had felt when Peggy was dating George. She had assumed it was because she was jealous of Peggy’s love life, but now? She felt so comfortable around Peggy now. She had never felt this comfortable with anyone before, not even Roger.

Joan opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn’t find the words. Instead, she cupped her hands around Peggy's face and leaned forward. Her lips met Peggy's and enveloped her into a long kiss.

***

February, _1978_

"No wonder we didn't work out," Stan said when Peggy told him over the phone from his apartment in Chicago. "I always had my suspicions."

Joan and Peggy had waited until the start of the New Year to tell their friends about their new relationship, and even then they had only chosen a handful of people to share the news with.

Kevin had shrugged, said ‘okay’, and went back to his Coco Puffs without a second thought. Nothing fazed that kid.

Joyce and Megan had smiled knowingly and said ‘it’s about time’ in unison.

Don had been genuinely surprised, though he had never been the most attentive person.

Roger and Marie kept inviting them over for “drinks and a private conversation”. Joan and Peggy agreed that they were most likely trying to arrange an orgy.

On the morning of Joan’s forty-seventh birthday, Peggy found herself sitting on the living room floor with Erica, repeating the word ‘mommy’ over and over again. Erica was fourteen months old now and she still hadn’t said her first word. The pediatrician had assured Peggy that this was perfectly normal, though that didn’t stop Peggy from worrying about her daughter’s progress.

“What do you want her to call you?” Peggy asked when Joan walked in with two mugs of coffee.

“What’s wrong with Aunty Joan?” Joan asked, handing Peggy one of the mugs.

“It’s a bit of a mouthful for her,” Peggy said. “I’ll be Mommy and you can be Mama.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Joan said, though she was flattered. “She might get confused. Aunty Joan is fine.”

“She’s our baby,” Peggy insisted. “You’ve been around her entire life. You’re just as much her mom as I am.”

She pointed to Joan and looked down at Erica, who stared up at her with her two giant docile blue eyes.

“Mama,” Peggy said.

Erica stared back up at her, looking slightly bemused. Joan giggled.

That night, Peggy took Joan out to dinner at La Grenouille for her birthday. Joan looked incredible in a tight periwinkle blue dress that showed off her figure. She looked incredible, but it made it difficult for Peggy to focus on dinner. She couldn’t stop thinking about what she was going to do when she finally got Joan alone in their bedroom back at the house.

When they got home, Peggy stayed downstairs to pay the babysitter and Joan went upstairs to check on the kids. By the time Peggy got up to their bedroom, Joan was lying on their bed, completely naked. She shot Peggy a coquettish come hither look as she walked in.

"Happy birthday," Peggy murmured, climbing onto the bed. She kissed Joan’s neck and fondled her nipple. "I love you."

"I love you too, honey," Joan whispered, unzipping the back of Peggy’s dress.


End file.
